Analyses business models for M2M at MWC 2014

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More than 72,000 attendees on 94,000 square meters. Nearly 1,700 exhibitors wishing to show their newest inventions. More than 3,400 accredited journalists representing 1,500 media outlets from nearly 80 countries... These figures provide a glimpse of what the Mobile World Congress, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from the 24th to the 27th of February, will involve.

To say that practically everyone in the field of mobile technology will attend this event could actually be an understatement.

Telefónica’s presence

Telefónica precisely chose this high-expectation setting to show its managed connectivity, smart metering, connected car and wearable devices solutions.

Also its latest agreements will play an important role, for example the launch of its Global M2M Channel Partner Programme extending its offer to all the m2m market players, including the expansion of its Smart M2M Solution to Latin America, which will allow its clients in this region to connect, manage and control M2M communications with a local SIM card, flexibly and securely.

In addition, two of the company’s key figures will present their thoughts on the industry in keynote addresses:

Connected Living, by Ángel David García Barrios, Head of Strategy and Alliances for Global M2M at Telefónica Digital. Wednesday 26 February, at 8:30 a.m.

Spotlight on Business Models for M2M Services, by Carlos Morales, Global Managing Director for M2M, Cloud Computing & Apps at Telefónica. Wednesday 26 February, at 04:30 p.m.

We can obtain further information on the topics above at the stand sponsored by the company in the venue.

Other highlights

The Mobile World Congress occasion has always stood out as the date companies in the industry choose to communicate their launches. A good indication of this trend are the presentations of 2014’s most relevant smartphones, by Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC and Nokia, among others.

The presence of major international figures also arouses great interest and, this year, especially Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s mobile world live keynote.

And of course, the MWC will make room for all current trends.

Keep in mind for an optimum (first) visit

Those who come to this great event for the first time must be clear on one point: focus is our great ally. The thing is that at an event of this scale, trying to cover everything is a mistake. Therefore, the first recommendation is to take a good look at the agenda before attending and to select those events that you feel you cannot miss.

Then, prepare the items that should not be absent from well packed luggage, such as business cards, comfy shoes or chargers for the different mobile devices.

In order to avoid jams and waits, you should know that there are a variety of ways to register, before arriving on the premises at Fira. During this important event, we recommend following it on Twitter at the official hashtag.

Otherwise, Telefónica m2m invites you to enjoy the Mobile World Congress 2014 and to visit our stand, so that you’ll be up to date with the latest news in the m2m world.

For those who cannot travel, we will keep you informed about the goings on at the MWC 2014 through our Twitter account, through LinkedIn and through this blog, where we will publish a daily update.

The smart way to improve the quality of life: a perspective from Latin America

The increasing tendency towards urbanization, derived from rural migration to the cities, is undoubtedly one of the most relevant processes of the twentieth century. In developing countries, this migratory process has been reinforced due to high birth rates which have resulted in an important increase in urban population growth.

Three of every four Latin Americans, which are more than 400 million people, live in cities. Some of the biggest cities in the world, such as Mexico City and Sao Paulo, are in Latin America. We live in what can truly be considered as mutant, chaotic and complex organisms. We also live in a part of the world which fights to emerge from a situation of underdevelopment and which has achieved great progress in the past decades. However, it still faces significant problems of marginalization and poverty.

Latin Americans yearn to live better. We understand progress as an increasing demand in standards of quality of life and the configuration of an environment of guaranteed essential securities.

What could have appeared to be a “perfect storm” (demographic changes in an environment of subjacent poverty which made living conditions in the city for a significant part of the Latin American population unviable), is today a reality which is only just beginning to change.

A fundamental part of this change is associated with information technologies. The implementation of these solutions based on the intelligent management of information has resulted in many improvements in our urban habitats: the security in our cities has increased, public transport is more pleasant and efficient, health benefits have a higher quality and coverage, education is facing new challenges, and democracy itself is gaining legitimacy thanks to greater transparency and the involvement of citizens in a deliberative process.

However, there’s no doubt that the challenges are greater than the advancements that have been made.

The realities are heterogeneous and not every city advances in the same way. But the hundreds of success cases of objective progression in our region indicate that the answer to that shared longing for a better living is building increasingly smarter cities.

It is becoming clearer that technological development is what spurs transformation in today’s tech era. However, technology alone does not guarantee a higher quality of life. Technology is and has always been a powerful tool to build realities, to speed up and improve productive, scientific, educational and social processes; but above all it is an instrument which requires a long-term strategic vision to be used to its full advantage.

We are seeing the decisive impact that technology is having in everyday life. In the day to day of a city as the densely populated urban areas that they are, the digitalization of daily life is transforming cities from the past into digital cities.

Building digital cities is a citizens’ process carried out by them for themselves. Digital cities aren’t a software which can be installed or a solution which an authority decides to implement. A digital city is a continuous learning process, where technologies, abilities, leaderships, volition, and above all, the dreams of every citizen are combined. In the same way that human beings never stop learning, cities can only become more or less intelligent. “The” intelligent city doesn’t exist.

A digital city can only be built when variables such as political will, long-term vision, public-private partnerships, investment in telecommunication infrastructures, technological innovation, applications which deliver digital services of the city to its inhabitants, training in digital skills and a lot of citizen involvement converge together. 

This is why a digital city is only possible when there is a digital ecosystem which supports it. This digital ecosystem’s first building block is telecommunications. Without a telecommunications network it is impossible to advance in a digital city project. As time passes, the effective, inclusive and innovative use we give these networks at the service of the citizens will be just as important.

The construction of interoperable and ideally open information systems based on sensors, data transport networks and aggregation mechanisms, information analysis, citizen service platforms, among other technological components are an essential and fundamental part of the construction of an intelligent city. Although technology is a necessary condition, relying only on that is not enough. The citizens are the ones who give life to this ecosystem, and they are the ones who should take technology into their own hands, by using it, valuing it and enjoying it.

Building the future in the present means turning into reality the ethics of networks, sharing and learning from others experiences. We are driving the formation of an alliance between South American smart cities, so that the cooperation and sharing of good practices is a permanent experience. In this same context, other telecommunication companies and digital services alongside Telefónica are supporting the creation of intelligent cities by advising local governments in the construction of their digital agendas and demonstrating the social and economic value they offer a city which systematically incorporates advanced technological systems.

We strongly believe in public-private partnerships as an important development axis. We have the vocation and compromise, as the telecommunications industry, to drive the development of content, applications and services for the digital ecosystem and to support with great emphasis the municipalities who have the idea of improving the lives of their citizens through the intense, efficient and sustainable use of information and communication technologies.

Our challenge is to improve the quality of life of 400 million Latin Americans who live in cities. We will only be able to rise to the challenge as soon as we’re capable of creating a partnership between national and local governments, telecommunication and digital services companies, in an environment which favors innovation, entrepreneurship and investment and stimulates the active involvement of citizens in building a better standard of life for us all. 

lean more :  M2M solution 

Monitoring sport performance with M2M

Not long ago, the most sophisticated way to measure sport performance for common people (not professionals) was a chronometer. Sport lovers now have a great opportunity to measure their workouts thanks to smartphone’s implantation. These devices through different Apps are able to monitor dozens of parameters.

GPS geolocalization is probably the most simple example and also the one which has brought the greatest advantages. Anyone can measure the speed and the routes of a training day. Uphill and downhill routes and rhythm changes can be checked on the mobile or with other devices in order to analyze the workout. A smart phone is not always necessary as there are many other devices which offer these possibilities, including the evolution of the chronometer: the smart watch.

You can achieve an all-rounded evaluation of your sport activity when these devices are combined with others that measure your physical performance. BodyMedia is an example of the connectivity at the service of sport. Their device can measure parameters such as the pulse, sweat or the temperature of the skin that are transmitted through blue tooth.

BodyMedia measures all these parameters thanks to a bracelet. But this is not the only way. Nike has launched shoes that provide athletes with information such as vertical leap, quickness (“hustle”) and how many times they jumped during a game or workout.

However, the smartphone continues to be main technology which measures amateurs’ physical efforts. According to Consumer Insights, 10 percent of US Cellular customers use a mobile phone or tablet for health or fitness on a regular basis.

Beyond performance analysis, other M2M solution for sport are becoming more and more usual. Some of them are very useful in improving the safety in more violent sports. The Checklight, developed by Reebok and MC10 is a beanie which can be worn either by itself or under a helmet that uses sensors to monitor head trauma and provide real-time data. The device comes with a light, which provides visual cues. A green light indicates that the device is active, but no trauma has been sustained. A yellow light indicates a moderate, though not necessarily hazardous impact. A red light indicates a severe impact.